Eyeglass or spectacle case.



no. 715,272. l Patented nec. 9. 1902.

J. G. KENEN.

EYEGLA'SS 0R SPECTACLE CASE. Y (Application med .my 30,5901.; l (Nu Nudel.)

UNITED STATES PATENT EEICE.

JOHN G. KOENEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

EYEGLASS OR SPECTACLE CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.. 71 5,272, dated December 9, 1902.

Application tiled July 30, 1901.

To LEZ whom it may oon/cern:

Be it known that I, JOHN G. KOENEN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Eyeglass or Spectacle Cases, of which the following is a specification.

In the manufacture of eyeglass-cases wherein the usual ball-and-socket fastening device is used for fastening the lid the hinge of the lid has always been relied upon for making the ball and socket operate properly with each other. In other words, it is necessary to so construct the cover and its hinge that the ball on entering the socket would put a tension on the hinge, which in its tendency to recover its normal position would draw the front edge of the socket back into engagement with the front side of the ball. The main objection besides trouble and expense in manufacture of this construction is that in case the cover becomes slightly iiattened the cover could not be locked in closed position, and the same difficulty ensues when the material -at the hinge becomes slightly stretched.

The object of my invention is to overcome these diiiculties; and to this end my invention consists, mainly, in forming the tray of the eyeglass-case with a tlattened surface to form a level seat for the ball of the fastening device, so that the socket in the cover will fall when the cover is closed squarely upon the ball and securely engage therewith.

In the accompanying drawings, to which reference is made and which form a part of the specification, Figure 1 is a plan view of an eyeglass-case made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional View of the same on line X X of Fig. 1, showing the cover closed; and Fig. 3 is a front view showing the cover slightly open.

Serial llo. 70,228. (No model.)

In the drawings, 2 designates the back of the case, 3 the lid hinged thereto at 4, and 5 designates the tray. The tray is formed with a raised and tlat seat 6, parallel with back 2 and level. 0n this level seat is mounted the ball 7, of the usual ball-and-socket clasp. The lid 3 is formed with a flat lip 7, which corresponds with the level surface or seat 6 and is provided with the usual spring eyelet-clasp S to engage with the ball for fastening the lid in closed position. The at lip '7L extends slightly beyond the level seat 6 to form a short lever 9, 'so that by pressing the thumb-nail between the tray and said lever the lid may be easily forced open. The iiat seat 6 of the tray besides correcting the difficulty of insecure fastening of the lid in case the lid becomes bent or the hinge lax serves by being elevated to stien the tray, so that difficulty in fastening is not likely to occur from any bending of the tray.

It is manifest that the ball and socket may be reversed without departing from my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

In an eyeglass or spectacle case the tray 5 having its central portion raised to form a flat elevated and level seat 6 parallel with the back 2 of the case and a fastening-ball 7 mounted on said seat, in combination with the lid 3 hinged to the edge of the said back and having the central portion of its lree edge formed with a fiat projecting lip 7 to correspond with seat 6 and a spring eyelet-olasp 8 inserted in said flat projecting lip '7il substantially as described.

JOI-IN G.. KOENEN. Witnesses:

y H. A. WEST,

HENRY MANCHESTER. 

